Public Smoking

Assault (or is it battery?) has been described for laymen as being "an unwanted touching." If someone only threatens to "touch" someone else against their will, such as making a fist and raising it, that's battery (or is it assault?). This legal issue extends to spitting on someone, just for example.

So, does exhaling cigarette smoke into my hair and clothes (and eyes and lungs) constitute assault, or battery? It would be a fun case!

Back in the seventies there were small devices that looked like two-part ball-point pens with a clip for carrying in a pocket. Pulling the ends apart revealed a small pump-nozzle, like for a breath spray, but the spray was a cologne. Neat idea.

I wanted to develop a similar device that contained a mixture of onion oil and garlic, and other unpleasant odors. Then I could walk over to someone who was smoking, legally or not, and spritz their clothing with it. When they protested, I would explain that I was sharing their freedom to bother the senses and pollute the clothing of someone else, and while my action was not crucial to my health, it would provide me with some satisfaction. This is what public smoking does ... it imposes someone else's choice of how things should taste and smell on others, dirties their clothing and hair, and does nothing at all to promote the health of the smoker, except in giving them some psycho-somatic pleasure. (I have no opinion about the alleged health risks of second-hand smoking. For me the issue is one of aesthetics and comfort, and the rights of people to be secure in their persons from unreasonable intrusions.)

I have not invested in my silly scheme because I thought I might be charged with assault or battery ... and I might actually be assaulted or battered!